NOTE: the "Students' Responsibilities" section under Policies and Guiding Principles of the University General Catalog provides general policies of conduct.  Particularly important is the subsection on Academic Integrity.  The policies below provide additional specific guidelines for this course.

I. General and Homework

1. You are responsible for everything you miss in class (handouts, notes, assignments, etc.). Extra handouts can be printed from the course website (see handouts).
2. Groups are formed by Dr. Dave and the TA based on the student information surveys.  You can list on the survey people you would like to work with. Be careful to select people that you will trust to do work reliably and on time -- don't necessarily pick your "friends." You will work with the same group (usually 4 people, always from the same Lab section) throughout the semester.  In Lab, you are free to choose your own working partners (you will usually work in groups of 2 or 3) but it is recommended that you try to select partners from your main class group.
3. Group members are required to work together on all homework assignments and on the Project. I recommend the following approach: try to work the problems individually first, then compare your approaches and results with your group members, then work together to settle on the correct approach and final answers.  DO NOT DIVIDE THE PROBLEMS UP WITHIN YOUR GROUP -- EVERY PERSON SHOULD TRY TO WORK EVERY PROBLEM. The group number and all member names must be included on all material submitted by the group. Submit only one assignment write-up for the entire group unless instructed otherwise.
4. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU SHOW ALL STEPS IN YOUR WORK.  GRADING WILL BE BASED ON THE COMPLETENESS, CLARITY, AND CORRECTNESS OF YOUR WORK, NOT JUST THE ANSWERS YOU PROVIDE.
5. Submitted homework assignments must be original work.  Do not copy work from other groups, past students, solution manuals, other books, etc.
6. Homework must be submitted before the beginning of class the day it is due. If you have trouble getting to class early, you should turn in your homework the night before or earlier in the morning (by sliding it under Dr. Dave's office door). Late work will not be accepted without penalty (e.g., few minutes late: -5%;  after class: -10%;  few hours late: -50%; more than a day late: -100%) unless there are unanticipatable and unavoidable circumstances. Homework may not be submitted in parts ... you must turn in what you have by the deadline (for no penalty) or submit everything late (with a penalty).
7. Problems with group members should be reported to Dr. Dave after the group has made an attempt to discuss and resolve the problems together.
8. Homework solutions will be posted in the display cases outside of the ME Office. Only the most recent solution set will remain in the case.  Point allocations for each problem will be shown on the solutions.  Please refer to these before questioning the grading of an assignment.

II. Laboratory

1. You must read the Lab write-up in the Lab book BEFORE coming to Lab. You should also view the related online video demonstrations. There will be a quiz at the beginning of each Lab to test whether or not you have come prepared (by reading the Lab and associated textbook material). If you are not in Lab at the beginning of the period (e.g., within the first 10 minutes), you will not be allowed to take the quiz.
2. Each Lab group must turn in a single Lab summary sheet (with each participating group member's name on it) before the end of the Lab period.
3. A Lab Practical Exam will evaluate each student's hands-on proficiency with the Lab instruments and basic circuits. Therefore, every individual should participate in all aspects of the laboratory exercises.
4. If you are unable to make it to your scheduled Lab, you can make arrangements with your TA to make-up the Lab during one of the other scheduled times. If you don't make arrangements before your scheduled Lab (e.g., by contacting your TA via phone or e-mail, or in person), you will still be allowed and encouraged to make-up the Lab, but you will receive a maximum of 50% credit for the Lab.
5. The Lab can be accessed (e.g., for project work) via card reader. The door must remain locked, but it can be propped open while someone is in the Lab. The last person to leave the Lab must turn off the lights and make sure the door locks behind them.
6. No food or drink is allowed in the Lab at any time.

III. Exams

1. Exams during the semester will be administered during the regular class period (50 minutes) and will be multiple choice format.  The purposes for the multiple choice exams are to eliminate time as a factor; eliminate traditional "plug and chug" number crunching; test a broad understanding by having many simple, diverse questions rather than just a few big problems; and to provide fast, fair, and uniform grading without need for "partial credit."
2. To me, the purpose for exams is to test understanding and application of basic concepts and principles in the course. The purpose is not to give traditional, detailed homework-like analysis problems or open-ended design problems. In my view, a limited time, high pressure, in-class exam is not the appropriate forum for attempting to evaluate problem-solving and solution-synthesis skills. In principle, oral exams or take-home exams would be better tools to measure knowledge and understanding; however, there are practical issues that eliminate these options as possibilities.
3. One of the reasons that I use multiple choice exams is that it lets me break down very large problems into small parts so "partial credit" is automatic. If I gave 3 or 4 large problems instead of 25-35 small sub-problem questions, I would still take off points for the small sub-problems answered incorrectly on the large problem exam. I feel that the multiple choice exam format is lower stress for you, allows me to give exams during the regular class time (instead of 2-3 hour evening exams), prevents you from losing a huge number of points if you were to totally space out on a large problem, and is a good measure of your basic understanding of the material. Also, grading is fast, impartial, and error-free. Also, many important exams that you might take in the future (e.g., FE, PE, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, etc.) are also multiple choice, so it is important that you are comfortable with these types of exams.
   
4. All exams will be closed book, closed notes, and closed neighbor.  The only things allowed during the examinations are pencils and erasers. Useful equations will be provided with the exam (see the sample exams). No calculators are allowed (or necessary).
5. You are required to bring you CSU ID to all examinations. You must enter and fill in dots for your last name and CSU ID # (not SSN) on your Scantron sheets. If you don't, there will be a penalty.
6. Make-up exams will be given only in the event of unanticipatable and unavoidable circumstances.
7. The final exam will be comprehensive but will stress material not covered by previous examinations.
8. All exams (including the final) will be taken in the same room used for lectures.
9. Any form of cheating on any examination will result in severe penalties (e.g., F in the course or expulsion from the university).

IV. Grading

1. Any disagreement with exam grading must be settled with Dr. Dave within one week after the graded material is returned. Any disagreement with homework or Lab-related grading must be settled with your TA, also within one week after the graded material is returned. Any grade recording errors must be reported within one week of when they are first posted on the website.
2. Grading will be adjusted throughout and at the end of the semester with a sliding scale (e.g., an 87.4 might be an A).  Cutoff scores between the letter grades will be based on overall class performance and based on the distribution of scores.  Cutoffs usually occur where there are gaps between clusters of similar scores.  Initial cutoffs will be based on the traditional decade-based grading scale (90 for A, 80 for B, etc.).  The cutoffs will never be above the decade-based values (i.e., you will never require a score higher than 89.5 to receive an A).  Also, the cutoffs will never increase during the semester (i.e., a cutoff at the end of the semester will not be higher than a cutoff published at the middle of the semester). Grades and cutoffs will be posted throughout the semester so you always know where you stand.
3. +/- grading will be used for borderline final scores (those within 1-3 points of the cutoffs).  It will be applied only at the end of the semester. The exact cutoff points for the +/- grades depend on how scores are distributed around the sliding scale cutoffs. The goal is for students with similar scores to get the same grade.
4. As with all undergraduate ME courses, if you are an ME major, you must get a C or better in this course. If you get a C- or below, you must retake this course. With a retake of MECH307, you have the option of using your Lab (all or nothing) and/or Project grades from the previous (latest) time you took the course. The grades will be scaled accordingly, based on the relation between the high and/or average scores between the semesters. You need to e-mail Dr. Dave with your decision by the end of the first week of the semester.
5. In the middle and at the end of the semester, you will be required to report on how your group performed together.  You will evaluate how well each of your group members contributed to the group.  An individual's final grade may be adjusted by as much as one letter grade based on these evaluations and Dr. Dave's and the TA's impressions.  A positive adjustment will be given to an individual who worked much harder and contributed much more than the rest of the group, and a negative adjustment will be given to an individual who didn't work hard and didn't contribute much to the group. The correlation between a person's final grade and their individual (vs. group) work scores are also considered. The evaluation deals with both homework and project contributions. The results of the evaluations are not reported until the end of the semester.
6. No individual extra credit work will be offered to improve grades.